How did you discover / suspect recurrence?
I am curious as to what symptoms or signs made you look into advancement or recurrence. I have completed chemo, radiation, reconstruction and am now on Femara and Prolia. I see my oncologist every six months and he says we’ll grow old together.
How did you know that something was off?
Comments
-
I couldn't walk. My lumbar vertebrae was mush, according to the spine surgeon who did a five level fusion. It had been eaten away by tumor. Hardly any back pain until I became incapacitated. Thinking the initial discomfort was muscle strain, a trial of home remedies such as ibuprofen/rest/ice, etc. didn't help.
Neither the urgent care physician or my internist's nurse practitioner had a high enough level of suspicion to order imaging so it took a couple weeks before an orthopedic clinic doctor did an x-ray and we saw the damage...
-
I had a lump
-
I had a lump as well. Six years after my initial diagnosis and a double mastectomy.
Kathy
-
I had a lump as well. Six years after my initial diagnosis and a double mastectomy.
Kathy
-
hi I’m 22 years old and I have autism and I’m kinda scared that I may have breast cancer or something I noticed today my nipple going blue or purple and lasting for a very long time and something came out of it. It was white but I don’t know Wants happening to me if anyone has any answers for I would like to hear them please I really need help with this I’m to young to have breast cancer
-
Brooke, sorry you are so worried. Your symptoms are not necessarily a sign at all of breast cancer. Please stop worrying and make an appointment with your doctor for further reassurance and any tests if necessary. Thanks for reaching out to this community of support and please let us know how you make out after your apt with your dr.
-
yes, you should see your doctor.
-
Brooke, you could have an infection or something more common. Please do make an appointment to get it checked.
-
I haven’t been on the board for years. My initial diagnosis was in May 2008. I had ILC and was told it was when it retirns not if, My tumor is PR negative so that amkes it bad, I have had some back pain so had an MRI done, Just got results, may be mets, I am having a horrible time handling this. I am one big bundle of nerves and sadness. Just had my first grandchild, can’t look at her without so much sadness. Thanks for listening to me...Jud
-
yes it is not great Judy. I find consolation in my daughter being not 2 as she was when I was diagnosed originally but close to 15 now. My job is done in large part. If I have average 4-5 years as per Cleopatra trial for my histology and proposed treatment it will be done even more. Not great to contemplate one's mortality. Mind , once initial shock subsides you may find out that you will live for quite a few years with a good quality of life and help with child minding a lot
. Besides it may not be metastasis.
In my case I could not perform the same on a squash court due to breathlessness/tachycardia more than usual and had a dry annoying cough.
-
Simbobby- I am glad that you posted this. I am always worrying about reoccurrence also, trying not to let it take over my brain thinking each little twitch I feel is cancer.
I'm very interested in the responses.
-
Thank you for the replies. Nice thing about HER+ is all of the treatments....went from being the worst to one of the best ones to have. My hairdresser's aunt is over 15 years with HER+ mets...
-
We didnt suspect a thing as I thought it spread from a breast tumor and my tumor was removed 9 yrs earlier. Severe pain in shoulder and arm believed to be a rotator cuff tear and bursitis proved to be more when physical therapy didnt help and I had an mri. Surprise!
-
My oncologist believes my new Dx is a new cancer, pathology report says recurrent cancer, so who knows.
I've had a lot of biopsies in both breasts, with the left breast (BC breast) having several Dx of ADH, ALH, DCIS, and other findings. After my DCIS Dx in 2018, I developed what I thought was scar tissue in the form of a lump from the various biopsies. I had a mammogram, US, and breast MRI all of which indicated suspicious mass and 2 suspicious nodes. Core biopsy confirmed IDC. Had a BMX on 8/5, final pathology IDC. Suspicious nodes were benign, found to be reactive nodes.
Original Dx was at 12:00 position, DCIS was at 1:00 position, new IDC was at 2:30-3:00 position. This last one appeared to grow quickly, from not there to ultimately 3.2cm in less than a year.
I'm choosing to take my MO's stance that it's a new cancer, but even if it's a recurrence it's local and treatable.
Tracy
-
First time posting. Hope it is in the right place. I had breast cancer (HER2+) 5 years ago in left breast. I had lumpectomy, chemo, radiation and Herceptin. Just finished my Letrozole. I just noticed I have a fairly good sized lump on same side, but closer to my collar bone. I don't know how long it has been there. I don't usually feel around in that area. I see my oncologist on Tuesday. Has anyone heard of or had experience with the reoccurrence happening in that area? It isn't painful but a little scary. If it is cancer, seems like it grew pretty quick. I had a clear PET scan a year ago. Thank you for any input.
-
rebajo I had a lump near there. Turned out to be a lipoma. But good to get checked.
-
rebajo, glad you are getting it checked soon. Keep us posted.
-
I'm curious if anyone found out about liver mets via blood work. My last labs show an elevated liver enzymes. Of course, I'm having tons of anxiety. I go back in 4 weeks for more labs and if it's still high, I'll move forward with an ultrasound. Anyone discover mets via blood work?
-
I don't have mets but my liver enzymes are higher than normal and go up and down. Fatty liver, high cholesterol, tamoxifen and other meds can be the culprit.
So blood work is not enough. I've had u/s and that's where my non alcoholic fatty liver was found. GL
-
I am interested in this question about elevated liver enzymes. I had pain in the chest area and went to ER thinking I was having a heart attack. Liver enzymes were very high but heart was fine so ER doc wanted to send me home. Panic time as I worried it was liver mets so called oncologist from my bed in the ER and he ordered a sonogram. Turned out to be a gall bladder attack (liver was fine) and led to gall bladder removal. From this I conclude that oncologist was concerned the high liver enzymes could well have been mets. So thankful it was gall bladder instead.Polly
-
Thanks ladies, I know there are a few different reasons liver enzymes can be high. I'll just have to wait to see if my numbers improve next month. Polly, about 3 weeks ago I thought I was having a heart attack! All of a sudden, my right jaw and back started feeling constricted. I could barely take pain and tightness and was very close to calling 911 but it eventually started fading after about 10 mins. I have never felt anything like it. Who knows......
-
Renee, you may have had gastric reflux.
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team